This amazing Instant Pot recipe combines dill pickle juice, pasta and a creamy cheesy sauce to make the best creamy chicken pasta dinner for the family!
You might be scratching your head with this recipe and I can see why you might think that. After all, pickles, chicken and pasta seems a little out of the box. But in the world of the internet, anything dill pickle is trending like crazy. I came up with this recipe on a whim and with an attitude that if it worked then awesome, but if it didn't, how bad could it actually taste and I'd use it up somehow. I was also inspired by these Dill Pickle Chicken Wings which I can't wait to try!
It ended up being one of those recipes where everything turns out perfectly and the end result is a total winner! If you like pickles you should definitely give this a try, the flavor is very mellow but you can still taste that familiar dill pickle flavor in each bite. It's a little bit like chicken Alfredo but no garlic and only a little Parmesan on top. The main flavor here is definitely the dill pickle juice, It's all about the pickle!
How do you make dill pickle creamy chicken pasta?
It's really easy and it's an Instant Pot recipe so we're talking about making a family dinner in around 30 minutes which is about the normal amount of time I have to feed everyone on a busy weeknight. Between dance classes and baseball there's never enough time to spend in the kitchen.
The secret to capturing that awesome pickle flavor is to pressure cook the chicken in the juice which only takes about 12 minutes.
How do I make the sauce creamy?
Once the chicken is cooked transfer it form the Instant Pot. Add the heavy cream to the pickle juice along with a cornstarch slurry (worst word ever) and that's how easy it is to create the sauce. Add the chicken and cooked pasta back into the pot and season.
Does it matter what kind of pickles I use?
Yes it does because you'll need to chop some pickles for garnish, so bread and butter pickles or hamburger pickles won't work, they're too thin. I used this 24oz jar of Kosher Baby Dills and diced them up to sprinkle over the finished pasta. The jar should give you just the right amount of pickle juice once you extract the pickles.
Do I have to use penne pasta?
No, you can use any pasta but I used mini penne and I like how the tubes get filled with the sauce meaning more flavor for me in each bite!
Can I reheat this creamy chicken pasta?
You can reheat in the microwave for a minute or two or place in a pan adding a half cup of milk and bring back to a simmer until hot.
